Machine for cutting continuous filaments into staple fibers



E. KINSELLA Dec. 24, 1940.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS INTO STAPLE FIBERS Filed April'7, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 EKINSELLA INVENTOR 7m Elm. 24, 1946. E.KINSELLP. 2,225,130

WACHINE FOR CUTTING CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS INTO STAPLE FIBERS Filed April7, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 2 O EKWSELLA IMVEMTOR 5 f rm -rro NlS V5 Dec. 24,1940. KINSELLA 2,226,130

MACHINE FOR CUTTING CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS INTO STAPLE FIBERS Filed April'7, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 /77 E-K/NSELLA ,4 Trc M/EYS Patented Dec. 24,1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR. CUTTING CONTINUOUS FIL-AMENTS INTO STAPLE FIBERS Application April 7, 1939, Serial No. 266,671In Great Britain April 20, 1938 18 Claims.

peatedly into contact with a knife arranged with I its edge near thepoint of emergence of the filaments, so that the filaments are severedinto fibers of a length equal to the length of filaments fed through themember between successive cuts.

To provide the air flow the rotating member is surrounded by a spiralcasing increasing progressively in the direction of rotation of themember from one side of the cutting point to the other and continuingfrom its widest point into a duct to which suction is applied. Thesuction causes air to pass through the rotary member into the casing,and the amount of suction is such that the rate of flow of air round thecasing is of the same order as the peripheral speed of the rotarymember. The spiral form of the casing ensures that the rate of air flowis maintained at substantially the same order round the whole of thecasing. The flow may, however, be augmented by the provision of one ormore openings in the casing through which secondary air is drawn by thesuction. This secondary air serves to control the angle of the filamentbundle leaving the rotary member and is most advantageously introducedinto the casing at a point or points close to the cutting point under adegree of suction such that the air speed immediately before the cuttingoperation'is at least approximately equal to and may be considerablygreater than the peripheral speed of the rotary member.

When the filaments have been cut into fibers, it is important that theyshould all be drawn away from the moving parts of the mechanism, and forthis purpose further air (tertiary) may be admitted to the cutter casingin a quantity suflicient to provide the necessary conveying power in thedelivery duct.

Some forms of apparatus according to the invention will now be describedin greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichFigs. 1, 2 and 3 are aplan view, a front elevation and a sectional sideelevation, and Fig. 4 a detail in section, respectively, of one form ofapparatus according to the invention:

Figs. 5 and 6 show two modifications of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; 5

Figs. 7 and 8 are a front elevation and a detail, respectively, of afurther form of apparatus according to the invention;

Figs. 9 and 10 are a side elevation and a front elevation, respectively,of a further form of ap- 10 paratus; and

Fig. 11 is a view of an apparatus according to the invention showing thegeneral arrangement and connections of the apparatus.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, the apparatus shown 15 therein is carried on abase plate i and comprises a spiral casing 2- terminating in an outlet Iduct 3. An enlargement 4 is provided in said spiral casing for theaccommodation of a rotary imember shown at 5 in Figs. 3 and 4 and exten-"20 sions 6 are provided on each side of the spiral casing for theaccommodation of a pair of overlapping disc knives indicated at l inFig. 2. The irotary member 5 is carried on the overhanging end of ashaft 8 mounted in bearings 9 between '25 which is disposed a drivingpulley Ill driven by a belt ll.

As shown in Fig. 4 the rotary member is built 'up of two halves I2 andI3, the half I! being se- I cured directly to the shaft 8, while thehalf I3 '30 is secured to the first half II. The dividing plane betweenthe two halves l2, I3, is at right angles to the axis of the shaft 8 andfor assembling purfposes a spigot and socket connection It may beprovided between the two halves. A radial passage l5 divided equallybetween the halves l2, l3, leads smoothly to an axial passage IS in thehalf 13 remote from the shaft 8 so that the bundle of filaments may beled horizontally into the rotary member 5 to pass into the radialpassage i5 and so to the periphery of the member 5. The spiral casing 2surrounds the rotary member 5 as shown 'in Fig. 3 and, starting at aboutthe same :radius as that of the rotary member 5, it gradually increasedin depth until after completely encircling the rotary member 5 it leadsto the wide delivery passage 3. Sealing means I! are provided as shownin Fig. 4 to prevent either air or lubricating oil circulated throughthe pipes ll {from entering the spiral casing 2 at the entry of theshaft 8.

Mounted on two horizontal shafts I8 at a height just above the shaft 8are two disc knives 'l overlapping each other slightly and providing anip at l9 at approximately the same level as iii) the shaft 8. At thepoint I 9 the spiral casing has reached its largest radius. The discknives I are plain on one face and bevelled on the other face to form asharp edge, the two plain faces being pressed against each other. Adriving pulley 20 driven by a belt 2| is provided on one of the shaftsI8, and an additional pulley 22 is carried on each shaft, the pulleys 22being connected by means of a cross belt 23 so as to carry the drivefrom one shaft to the other and to drive the shafts in oppositedirections. In this way, at the nip l9 the cutting edges of both knivesl are moving upwards, in substantially the same direction as theadjacent periphery of the rotary member 5.

Suction is applied to the delivery duct 3, as described hereafter, sothat an air flow is set up round the spiral casing 2, the air beingdrawn through the passages l5, IS, in the rotary member at such a speedthat the air flow round the casing 2 is approximately equal orpreferably even greater than the peripheral speed of the rotary member5. The constantly increasing radius of the casing 2 provides for asubstantially uniform .air speed round the casing. Immediately beforethe cutting point it the air speed is increased by the provision of twoinlet holes 24, 25, shown in Fig. 3, provided on each side of the casing2, the holes 24, 25, being so shaped and positioned that the incomingair moves substantially tangential to the rotary member so as to liftthe emerging filaments clear-of the memher.

The bundle of filaments is fed to the axial passage It in the rotarymember 5 by means of a duct 25 shown in Fig. 1 and a pair of feedrollers 21, 28. The roller 2? is a steel surfaced measuring roller andis driven from the shaft El by means of gears 29, 58, chain sprockets3i, 32, and a chain 33, a horizontal shaft 34 and a worm 35 and wormwheel 36 driving the shaft til on which the drum 2? is mounted. The gear3!] and sprocket 3i are mounted on an intermediate shaft 38 and thesprocket 32 is mounted on the shaft 34 which is carried in suitablebearings 39, it. The shaft 3? is carried in a sleeve ll mounted on thebase plate I When it is desired to change the speed at which thefilaments are fed, this may be effected by changing the sprockets 3 l,32 at the end of the apparatus. The bundle of filaments is nippedagainst the measuring roller 27 by means of the rubber covered roller 28carried in a swinging bracket as which is drawn towards the roller 21 bymeans of a spring 46 anchored at 45. The spring M is connected. to thebracket 13 by means of a quick-release link :36 and lever 41? wherebythe roller 28 may be released and thrown back from the roller 27 whendesired. The duct 26, roller 23 and associated parts are omitted fromFig. 2 for greater clarity. Windows 42. are provided in the spiralcasing 2 and in the duct 3 so that the progress of the cutting operationmay be observed.

As the member 5 rotates there emerges from the radial passage 45 thereina length of filament bundle in accordance with the relative rates ofrotation of the member a and the roller 2?. The protruding length of thebundle is caused by the air current round the casing 2 to projectsubstantially erect from the rotary member h and is thus carried cleanlyinto the nip iii formed by the disc knives l. The fibers formed bysevering the end of the'bundle are carried away from the vicinity of theknives i by further air admitted through a slot iii formed between theflanges 49 of the casing 2 and the flanges 50 of the delivery duct 3.The whole apparatus is maintained under a suction of say 4 to 10 incheswater gauge, which ensures the admission of the necessary proportions ofprimary, secondary, and tertiary air to give correct presentation of thefilaments to the cutting point i9 and to carry away the cut fibers.

As is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the inlet holes 24, 25 may be omitted andthe secondary air may be admitted round the periphery of the casing bymeans of a series of slots 53. In Fig. 5 the slots 53 are formed betweenvanes 54 mounted all round the periphery of the casing 2a, the vanes 54being pivotally mounted, e. g. on pivots extending parallel to thepassage [6 from the inner edges of the vanes 54 into the fiat side wallsof the casing 2a, so that they may be opened or closed to any desireddegree.

In Fig. 6 the slots 53 are formed between fixed members 55, and asliding shutter 56 having slots 57 therein is provided outside thecasing 2b by means of which the slots 53 may be closed to any desiredextent. Fig. 6 shows in addition how the tertiary air admitted throughthe slot lil may be augmented by the provision of a series of circularholes 59 round the edge of the extensions 6 of the knife casing.Furthermore, Fig. 6 indicates the employment of a single disc cutter 60,the general arrangement of which is shown more clearly in Figs. 7 and 8.From Fig. 7 it will be seen that there is only one extension E, on oneside of the spiral casing 2, for the accommodation of the singlerotating disc 60 which is mounted on a shaft it as described withreference to Figs. 1-4. The single disc 60 contacts with the peripheryof the rotating member 5 so as to sever the filaments emergingtherefrom. As shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 the radial passage We mayterminate in a slot ti which is formed nearly tangential to the discknife (if! so that the filaments emerge from the radial passage in theform of a band and are cut by the disc cutter 6i] progressively acrossthe width of the band.

Figs. 9 and 10 show diagrammatically the em ployment of a band knife inplace of the disc knives shown in the preceding figures. As with thesingle disc knives, it is preferable to use a passage 8 5 terminating inan oblique slot 6 l. The band knife 62 is mounted on pulleys 63, 66carried and driven by shafts 65. The band knife 62 enters the apparatusbetween the flange 59 of the spiral casing 2 and the flange 56 of thedelivery duct 3 which is omitted from Fig. 10. That is to say, the bandknife 62 enters and leaves the apparatus through the slot 18 providedfor the admission of tertiary air.

Fig. 11 shows a general arrangement of the apparatus according to theinvention. It will be seen that the base plate is mounted on a standard$6 and that electric motors E71, 68 are provided for the driving of theshafts 6 and it. Suitable tension arrangements 69 "m are provided fortensioning the belt ii. The delivery duct 3 is connected by means of apipe ii to a suction head it maintained under suction by means or" asuction pump, air ejector or the like. The pipe Ii is flattened at it?soas to fit the flat section of the delivery duct Having described myinvention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Method of cutting continuous filaments into staple fibers, whichcomprises feeding a bundle of filaments along a pathturning through anangle, constraining the part of said bundle bep yond said angle torotate about an axis coincident with the path of said bundle to saidangle so as to forward said part by centrifugal force, carrying theleading end of said bundle into an air stream moving in the direction ofrotation of said part of the bundle and at such a speed as to maintainsaid end substantially radial to said axis, and periodically cutting offsaid end at a fixed point to form a bundle of fibers, said cutting beingeifected by virtue of the lateral motion of the rotary part of saidbundle, and being facilitated by the radial disposition of said end.

2. Method according to claim 1, which comprises supplying the air to theair stream partly along the same path as the filaments and partly at oneor more fixed points disposed close to the path of the filaments shortlybefore they reach the point where they are cut.

3. Method according to claim 1, which comprises augmenting the airstream immediately after cutting so as to carry the cut fibers away fromthe point where they are cut.

4. Method according to claim 1, which comprises supplying the air tosaid air stream partly along the same path as the filament and partly atone or more fixed points disposed close to the path of the filamentsshortly before they reach the point where they are cut and augmentingthe air stream immediately after cutting so as to carry the cut fibersaway from the point where they are cut.

5. Method according to claim 1, which comprises delivering the filamentsat the point where they are cut in the form of a ribbon and cutting saidribbon progressively across its width.

6. Method according to claim 1', which comprises delivering thefilaments at the point where they are cut in the form of a ribbon,cutting said ribbon progressively across its width, supplying the air tothe air stream partly along the same path as the filaments and partly atone or more fixed points disposed close to the path of the filamentsshortly before they reach the point where they are cut and augmentingthe air stream immediately after cutting so as to carry the cut fibersaway from the point where they are cut.

'7. Apparatus for cutting continuous filaments into staple fibers, saidapparatus comprising a rotatable member having a radial passage and anaxial passage communicating with one another therein, a cuttingdevicefor severing the protruding ends of filaments as the end of saidradial passage passes said cutting device, a spiral casing surroundingsaid rotary member and increasing in radial depth from'a pointimmediately after said cutting device to a point immediately before saidcutting device, and means for inducing a current of. air through saidaxial and radial passages and through said spiral casing.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the spiral casing is providedwith openings for the entry of air immediately before the cuttingdevice.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising a series of openings roundthe periphery of the spiral casing for the admission of air.

10. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising a series of openingsround the periphery of the spiral casing for the admission of air andadditional openings for the entry of air immediately before the cuttingdevice.

11. Apparatus according to claim '7, comprising as the periphery of thespiral casing a series of pivoted vanes between which openings areconstituted for the admission of air, said vanes being adapted bypivoting to close said openings to any desired degree.

12. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising a series of openingsround the periphery ofthe spiral casing for the admission of air and asliding shutter surrounding the periphery of the spiral casing andadapted to close said openings simultaneously to any desired degree.

13. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising means for admittingadditional air immediately after the cutting point to facilitate theremoval of the cut fibers from the cutting point.

14. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising as the periphery of thespiral casing a series of pivoted vanes between which openings areconstituted for the admission of air, said vanes being adapted bypivoting to close said openings to any desired degree, additionalopenings for the entry of air immediately before the cutting ,device,and means for admitting still further air immediately after the cuttingpoint to facilitate the removal of cut fibers from the cutting point.

15. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising a series of openingsround the periphery of the spiral casing for the admission of air, asliding shutter surrounding the periphery of the spiral casing andadapted to close said openings simultaneously to any desired degree,additional openings for the entry of air immediately before the cuttingdevice, and means for admitting still further air immediately after thecutting point to facilitate the removal of cut fibers from the cuttingpoint.

16. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising as the cutting device apair of disc knives overlapping to form a cutting nip and means forrotating said knives in opposite directions.

17. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising as the cutting device asingle sharp edged disc and means for rotating said disc.

18. Apparatus according to claim '7, comprising a band knifeconstituting the cutting device.

EDWARD KDISE'LLA.

